Somalia
Read MoreThis 14-year-old girl was displaced from her town near Afgooye Corridor, a town 30kms from Mogadishu, Somalia.
She arrived at the Maternity Ward at the Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu malnourished and dehydrated… her baby was born days after her arrival underweight and, at the time this image was taken, was being monitored for complications due to respiratory illness.
Al-Shabab militants controlling areas on the outskirts of Mogadishu banned most western aid agencies from entering their territories and prevented starving villagers from fleeing famine zones.I came across this young boy in an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp in Mogadishu, Somalia while documenting another project. Due to my affiliation with Smile Train, I was able to help facilitate his corrective surgery with the help of the head surgeon at Medina Hospital in Mogadishu. This image was taken an hour before his surgery.